MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
News Release (014/2009) issued by COI News Distribution Service. 21
January 2009
Royal Fleet
Auxiliary (RFA) Argus is to be upgraded with state of the art
medical equipment in an extensive refit worth over £23M, that will
see the ship renovated for her crucial role in providing hospital
facilities to troops in war zones.
Work began at A&P Group's Falmouth facility this week on
the first major refit under a contract awarded by the MOD to
A&P Group last year to support five RFA vessels.
New medical equipment to be installed includes the latest
advances in CT scanning equipment, used to assess casualties by 3D
X-ray imagery, as well as new sterilising kit. As a Primary
Casualty Receiving Facility, Argus can accommodate 100 casualties
at any time ensuring wounded service personnel of all
nationalities can receive swift primary care.
MOD Defence Equipment & Support (DE&S) Director of Afloat
Support, Commodore Dave Preston said:
"The medical support Argus can provide troops on operations
is a crucial capability that can make all the difference when time
is of the essence in the treatment of casualties."
The ship's environmental credentials will get a boost with a
state of the art bioreactor that uses microbial action to process
sewage, while new refrigeration and air conditioning plants that
use more environmentally friendly refrigerant gases will be
installed. The accommodation and mess facilities will also be
modernised, to improve living standards for both crew and patients.
A&P Managing Director Peter Child said:
"A&P has a long history of working with the RFA and this
experience has proved invaluable in the planning of this package
which we have worked closely with DE&S to draw up. Working
through the through-life support package, which we expect to
secure nearly 100 jobs over the next five years, will expand this
experience even further helping us to deliver real value while
giving us stability in our order book."
Notes to editors:
1. RFA Argus has two roles. In addition to
her Primary Casualty Receiving Facility she can also provide
specialist aviation training facilities. A flight deck more than
two thirds of her length can accommodate any of the Royal
Navy's helicopters. Her flexible design means she is also
able to fulfill additional roles such as a logistic ship as she
can be very quickly adapted to transport large amounts of equipment.
2. Extensive modernisation of the ship's equipment and
systems in order to comply with the latest environmental and
safety legislation is included in the refit. Fire detection and
fixed fire suppression systems will be extensively upgraded
throughout and improvements made to the emergency escape and
evacuation systems.
3. In June 2008 A&P won an MOD contract to provide
through-life support over five years to RFA Cardigan Bay, RFA
Largs Bay, RFA Lyme Bay and RFA Mounts Bay.
4. In addition, three contracts were awarded to supply specialist
equipment and services to upkeep work to all 16 RFA vessels over
the period:
* Lloyds Register, Bristol, £2.6M, for
classification services to ensure each RFA vessel meets
maintenance standards and regulations;
* Hempel Limited,
Blaenau Gwent, £3.9M, to provide paint; and
* Trimline
Limited, Southampton, for £19.4M to provide furnishings.
5. Attached images (c) Crown Copyright. Images from http://www.defenceimages.mod.uk
6. For further information please contact Sally May, DE&S
Press Office, 0117 91 3 0638.